1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for dissolving solid material into liquid and more particularly to a brine maker that can be efficiently operated, cleaned, and maintained.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Salt brine production systems, also known as brine makers, have been used for hundreds of years in many different industries and applications. For example, several state road departments spray liquids, including salt brine, onto road surfaces before winter storms. They also spray these liquids onto dry salt-sand mixtures just before the mixtures are spread onto the roadways. Both methods, if done properly, have proved to be successful in de-icing roads and preventing road surfaces from freezing in the first place.
The general method for making salt brine has not changed over the years. In a downward flow brine maker, salt is loaded into a salt hopper, which is placed directly above a brine hopper. A salt screen is disposed between the salt hopper and brine hopper to retain the salt inside the salt hopper. Water is introduced to the salt hopper and dissolves the salt, forming the brine, which flows downward into the brine hopper. The brine collects in the brine hopper until it is later pumped into a holding tank. This basic brine maker design suffers from one key deficiency; clean-out is difficult and time-consuming. To properly clean the brine maker, the operator must, customarily, climb a ladder placed alongside the brine maker and physically enter the salt hopper to shovel the debris into a loader over the walls of salt hopper bucket and manually haul each bucket of debris out of the salt hopper. Thereafter, the operator could scrub the inside of the hopper and the upper surface of the salt screen. Access to the interior of the brine hopper and lower surface of the salt screen is typically gained by manually removing the brine hopper from the system. The time and resources spent on cleaning the brine maker are costly and bothersome.
A routine and thorough cleaning of the brine maker is necessary because many state road departments use standard rock salt, which is usually quite dirty, to make their brine. Some states allow up to 10% debris/dirt in their specifications for rock salt. The debris and dirt collects in both the salt hopper and the brine holding tank. Many operators delay cleaning their brine makers because it takes too long and requires valuable resources. However, when the brine makers are not regularly cleaned, the speed and efficiency of the brine production process is greatly reduced. Eventually, the system begins to back up. The operator is usually unaware of the problem until the fluid has completely filled the salt hopper and begins to overflow. Clean-up at that point is made extremely difficult. Accordingly, the operator must choose between the excessive time and work of cleaning the brine maker and reducing the speed and efficiency that they are capable of producing brine.
One previous attempt at making a brine maker that was easy to clean provided a removable salt hopper. A bracket was welded to the salt hopper so that the operator could couple his front end loader to the salt hopper. The operator was then able to remove the salt hopper and drive it to a particular location and dump the debris out of the salt hopper. While this brine maker concept was an improvement over previous brine makers as far as clean-out is concerned, it still suffered from two key flaws. First, the operator would have to disconnect the bucket from his front end loader before attaching the loader to the removable salt hopper. This consumes a lot of time, especially when trying to align the loader pins with the salt hopper bucket. After the operator has then placed the removable salt hopper back onto the brine maker, he must re-attach the bucket to the loader in order to add more salt to the salt hopper. The operator must also disconnect and reconnect the liquid inlet lines to the removable salt hopper. Moreover, silt still collects in the brine hopper, and there is no easy way to clean the silt out. If the silt is not cleaned out, suspended solids will collect in the brine storage tanks and silt will eventually clog the suction port that leads to the brine discharge pump.
Another prior art brine maker design provided a brine hopper that was pivotally connected to a frame that supported the brine maker, adjacent to the lower end of the salt hopper. Accordingly, the brine hopper could be pivoted down and away from the salt hopper so that silt and other debris could be manually removed. The design further incorporated a complex hydraulic assembly that could tip the entire salt hopper forward and away from the frame until its sides were at or beyond horizontal. In this position, the operator could have access to the interior of the salt hopper and the salt screen, which was permanently fixed at the bottom thereof, for cleaning and maintenance. The hydraulic assembly further provided a means for selectively pivoting the brine hopper between open and closed positions. While this design improved the ease with which brine makers could be cleaned, it too had several shortcomings. First, the complexity of the design and hydraulics system increased the unit's costs and manufacturing time. Second, the unit required a greater working area to pivot the salt hopper. The pivoting salt hopper further complicated the engineering and maintenance of the fluid inlet lines. Moreover, cleaning and maintenance of the salt screen and brine hopper were still somewhat cumbersome.
Another shortcoming of prior art brine makers includes their method of introducing water to the salt load in the salt hopper. In these designs, water is piped to the top of the salt hopper. The water then enters the salt hopper via one or more spray bars that extend horizontally along the sides of the salt hopper. Small holes are drilled along the length of the spray bars to provide a uniform spray pattern. As the water exits the spray bars, it is directed at a fixed location into the salt load. However, when the salt is dumped into the hopper, it creates a natural cone-shape. Therefore, the even horizontal spray effectively strikes the salt load in the center, but the sides of the spray are fired ineffectively into the opposite side of the salt hopper. The salt load dissolves more efficiently when it is directly impacted by the water spray. The shortcomings of this design are only accentuated as the salt load decreases in size and the fixed water stream eventually begins firing directly over the salt load.
Accordingly, what is needed is a brine maker that efficiently dissolves solid material and is easy to clean and maintain without increasing the cost and complexity of manufacture.